The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at CU Denver offers a variety of credit bearing programs that are available for non-degree seeking students. Learn more about CLAS certificates below and click on the Application and Enrollment Options menu for more information on how to apply as a non-degree seeking student.
Certificate Programs
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences offers over 30 undergraduate and graduate certificates. Certificates offer students a way to enhance their existing skills and provide professional development. Click the button below to see the full list of certificates that we offer:
New Directions in Politics and Public Policy
New Directions is a Continuing and Professional Education (CPE) program housed within the CU Denver Political Science Department, offering a Master's Degree in applied Political Science as well as graduate and undergraduate level certificate programs open to both degree seeking and non-degree students. New Directions provides real-world education in two closely related sectors that work together to shape local communities:
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Local Public Leadership, including public policy and local government administration.
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Non-profit Community or Labor Leadership, including non-profit management and community-based or labor organizing.
New Directions balances a foundational curriculum that develops students' skills and abilities with cutting-edge courses on emerging trends in local movements, policy and governance. The program develops students' political acumen, enabling them to be effective leaders and preparing them to advance more equitable neighborhoods, governmental jurisdictions, labor unions and community-based organizations.
Most courses in the program can be taken in an intensive weekend-retreat format, allowing completion of a class in just three separate weekends of work. Classes are offered in several different formats: in-person, exclusively online or sometimes a mix of both in-person and online within the same course. Where a class is offered in-person, students may contact the instructor regarding remote participation options for students located outside the Denver Metro area. These class formats provide students substantial flexibility, many of whom work full-time or have other personal and family obligations.
New Directions is also home to an innovative program that places students in small jurisdictions across the state in partnership with the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA)’s Cathy Shipley Best and Brightest Fellowship. As part of the fellowship, students gain real-world work experience as practitioners in their field while earning a salary and benefits. As a result of this robust partnership between DOLA and New Directions, hundreds of alumni have kick-started their careers in local government and nonprofit sectors.